Subaqueous tunnel



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N0. 522,222. PatentedJuly 3, 1894..

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E. E. vLUNKEII. SUBAQUBQUS. TUNNEL.

No. 522,222. Patented July s, 1894.

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E. H. LUNKBN. SUBAQUBGUS TUNNEL.

No. 522,222.l l Patented July s, 1894.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.'

EDMUND H.LUNKEN, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

suBAQUl-:ous TUNNEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 522,222,8dated July 3,1894; Application met october 30,1883. serial No.' 489.478. cro man.)

To aZZ whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, EDMUND H. LUNKEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio,have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Subaqueous Tunnels,o f.

which the vfollowing is a full, clear, and exact description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this speci-Iication.

My invention relates to that class of tunnels for traversing navigablerivers, ocean channels, and other large bodies of water, which, while.having their ends projecting from and above the water, have theirmiddle portions entirely submerged to permit the passage over th em ofvessels of heaviest draft; and it has foil its object the improvedmethod of building such tunnels and bringing them to their properlocation to connect with the shores. v

The noveltyl of my invention will be here'- inafter set forth andspecifically pointed out in the claims.

. In the accompanying drawings--Figure 1, Sheet 1, is an elevation of atunnel embodying my invention in one form. Fig. 2,' Sheet 1, is atransverse section onthe dotted line of Fig. 1, looking to the left.Fig. 3, Sheet 1, is a transverse section on the dotted line y-y ofFig.y 1. Fig. 4, Sheet 2, is a view lcorresponding to Fig. 1, before thetunnel has been sunk to place. Fig. 5, Sheet 2, is a longitudinalsection in elevation of the tunnel. Fig. 6, Sheet 3, is a side elevationof my imf proved tunnel as adapted to narrow, deep bodies of water, likethe Chicago river. Fig. 7, Sheet 3, is a longitudinal section, in sideelevation of Fig. 6. Fig. 8, Sheet 3, is a longitudinal section in planof Fig. 6. Fig. 9, Sheet 3, is a transverse section on the line z-z ofFig. 7.

The same letters of reference are used to indicate identical parts inall the figures.

It has been proposed, heretofore, to build metallic tunnels of thischaracter in short sections on land and then float the same'to the placedesired and submerge them. After this was'done, the work of connectingthe sections would have to be carried on under the water at greatexpense and risk to life, and after the entire tunnel had thus beenbuilt up, it

would have to be pumped out and anchored. 1t has also been proposed -vtolay longer sections of tunnel in trenches dredged in the bottom of thechannel, and after. connecting them byshorter sections withl the shoreends, to fill in the trench and cover the-tunnel with earth. But thislatter method also'requires working under water and is more expensiveand objectionable than that before -mentioned. All metallic or steelstructures require repainting to protect them against rust, and all`methods of constructing metallic tunnels heretofore known areobjectionable for the reason that they cannotbe removed for repairs orproperly painted.l

My method consists in building the complete structure as anintegral'structure, on land,j ust as the hull of a vessel isconstructed, then to launch the same and tow it to the `place requiredand then to sink it upon its supports or foundations, or suitably anchorthe'same inY place. vIn this way the ends of the passage way or ways arenever submerged, and both the cost of construction and of placing thetunnel in position are very greatly lessened, and no work under water isrequired, while at the same time the structure can be readily removedand floated away to be docked for repairs or repainting and then broughtback to position.

Referringnow to Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, A A represent ordinary bridgepiers of masonry and connected with the shores by ordinary bridgetrusses B. Between the piers A is the main channel, say six or sevenhundred feet. C is the tunnel composed preferably of the upper passageway or ways o, and a lower ballast compartment or compartments b, thewhole built and braced on land, or in a dry dock, after the manner ofshipbuilding.. The details of construction form no part of my inventionand may be. carriedout by those familiar with this class of engineering.The only essential is that the structure should descend from its ends tothe middle and .that the whole should be water tight. The tunnelthusconstructed is launched and floated, in an upright position, to itslocation between the piers A as seen in Fig. 4. The ballast is ICOapplied to the compartment or compartments b either trough traps in thetunnel oor, or, as I prefer to do it, by admitting water struction,forfoot passengers only, and adaptto the compartments b until the structuresinks and its ends are caught and rest upon abutments c on the piersmade for that purpose. In this position the tunnel portion a, at itsends, registers with the road way,

whether it be the shore or the bridge portions B; and in comparativelyshallow or very wide channels, a middle pier-support D, may be providedfor the center to rest on. When so constructed and sunk, 'there would bean abundance of water space over the tunnel at the middle to permitthefree passage of vessels, and buoys or posts E carried by the tunnelwould indicate the passage way. The

ends of the tunnel portions would be secured to the piers in anyconvenient manner. A

tunnel thus constructed can be utilized for` foot passengers, wagon waysand cable or and Brooklyn.

ing its fastenings, when it will rise and iioat upon the water and maybe towed away and docked for such repairing or repairs and then bebrought back again and resunk to position.

tunnels always in repair ready to take the place of the `one raised andtowed away, so'` that but little interference with transit would iioatedto its location `and sunk to place, in

OCCHI'.

It will be seen from the above that my purpose is to construct upon landa rigid, integral, buoyant structure and extending downward from eachend to its middle in the tunnel passage way portion, and with asubjacent in an upright position, just as a vessel is launched, and withthe ends of the passage way or tunnel portion unsubmerged, and then tofioat this rigid, buoyant structure to posi-` tion between its supportsand sink it, still leaving the ends of the passage Way or tunnel portionunsubmerged and registering with the shore connections.

In Figs. G, 7, 8 and 9, I have shown a conable to narrow streams, likethe Chicago river It would be my plan in places like New York andBrooklyn to have one or more extra in the city of Chicago. I-Iere theopen ends of the tunnel would be provided with spiral or windingstairways e, Fig. 7, and the main body of the tunnel would be horizontaland rest on the bed of the stream or on piers or supports. But, asbefore, the structure would be built on land, integral, and would thenbe floated or lifted bodily into position and then be sunk to place.

I'Iaving thus fully described my invention, I claiml. A tunnelconsisting of a single tubular section, comprising in its structure alower compartment or hull and an upper compartment or tunnel passage, ofsuch form as to render the whole buoyant in water, whereby the same canbe built on shore, launched, floated to its location and sunk to place,substantially as described.

2. The combination with a buoyant integral tunnel having a centralsubmerged portion, of a hull or ballast portion located beneath saidtunnel, the whole constructed to give the tunnel rigid support and tokeep it balanced upright in the water, whereby it is always ready foruse or to be floated away for repairs, substantially as described.

3. A tunnel consisting of a single tubular section, comprising in itsstructure a lower compartment or hull and an upper compartment or tunnelpassage of such form as to render the whole buoyant like a vessel, thesame adapted to be built on shore, launched,

combination with piers `or supports for the ends of the structure and onwhich the structure rests when sunk, substantially as described. y

4. A tunnel consisting of a single tubular section, comprising in itsstructure a lower compartment or hull and an upper compartment or tunnelpassage, of such form as to render `the Whole buoyant, like a vessel,the same adapted to be built on shore, launched, iloated to its locationand sunk to place, in combination with piers or supports for the ends ofthe structure, and an intermediate pier for supporting the structurebetween its ends, substantially as described.

EDMUND H. LUNKEN. Vitnesses:

J. THoMsoN Cnoss, BERNARD J. lInUsFELD.

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